Football

Kennard to power lift at McKendree

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Written by Scott Allen

Published: January 26, 2017

MOUNT CARMEL, ILL. – School record yardage totals in football are not the only big numbers Trevor Kennard has put up at Mount Carmel High School. In fact, his power lifting numbers have been good enough to land a college scholarship. Kennard signed scholarship papers on Wednesday to attend McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois this fall.

David Edwards is the head coach of the Bearcats lifting team, comprised of 25-30 athletes. He recruited Kennard, thanks in part to a recommendation from another former Mount Carmel football standout and McKendree lifter.

“(Kennard) comes with high regards from Kane Garcia,” said Edwards, in attendance at Kennard’s signing in the new lobby at Mount Carmel High School. “Kane said all kinds of good things about him, academically and athletically.”

Kennard said he has been power lifting since the seventh grade. And the lure of continuing to lift at the collegiate level was bigger than football. “I’ve had a lot of success in football here, but I really enjoy power lifting and I will like it a lot when I’m doing it full-time,” he said.

A personal e-mail from Kennard may have sealed the deal.

“I’m always interested in kids when they e-mail me,” Edwards said. “He came down last weekend, and I got to see him lift for the first time. After that, I knew I wanted (to sign) him.”

Most of the power lifting competitions throughout the season are open, with an end-of-season collegiate championship, which each finalist must qualify for individually, according to Edwards.

Kennard’s goal as a freshman is to “try and qualify for collegiate nationals. I’ve got to work out hard this summer and hopefully do some big things. “

Now to the numbers. In football, Kennard’s rushing career total was 5,060 yards, and he unified the game, season, and career yardage records under his name during his four years at the Hilltop. His lifting totals are around 500 pounds in the dead-lift, around 300 in the bench press, to go with a “little shaky” squat total of around 450 pounds.